My Food Policies, Beliefs, Motto, and more!

This is not meant to be a preachy post! It's just a post to define MY food standards. And maybe a chance for me to jump on my soapbox but not to offend anyone!  And please note that these thoughts are not the opinions of my extended family, friends or employer. 

I try my hardest not to push my opinions on others out of respect for their own beliefs and feelings, but my immediate family, on the other hand, has no choice (laughs). So here I go...

I am a believer in organic, local first, non-refined, unbleached, 100% pure, lean, healthy full flavor foods. I enjoy lots of garlic and onions in most entree or side dishes. Ground flax seeds and coconut oil will appear where you least expect them. I try to stay away from brand names, so as not to support what they stand for. I support REAL food made from scratch food, grown by humans. Foods that have NOT been injected, manipulated or mutated.

On the flip side, I am human, not a robot. There are some less healthy foods that I enjoy, in moderation. Some of my friends are blown away when they see me eat a meal from Chick-fil-A, or if they catch me sipping on a Diet Coke. But I never said I forbid certain foods, I simply said they are not what I preferred. I want my girls to see options and understand what healthy choices are even if we have to explain why these other foods are not seen in our house. We live in the real world not in some protected bubble never allowing them out of the house for a birthday celebration or for trick-or-treating on Halloween.

I atribute many of my food "policies" to the time I worked for a natural food store in the mid 90’s. There I learned about the first "food revolution" which fueled my newly adopted vegetarian lifestyle at the time. One book that hit me upside the head at the time was Diet for a New America, by John Robbins. A perfect precursor to Fast Food Nation,  Food Inc and other similar books. It's not a great coffee table book, but sure is worth the read.

By being exposed to these books and work environment it got me reading labels, understanding ingredient list, and forming my decisions. Even led me to continue my education in health and wellness. I began to pull my blinders off and see what was happening with the foods we eat and their effects on our bodies. To understand that food is so much more! It is a tool that can either fix problems or cause problems. We have to be the ones who choice which tool we will use.

Healthy food is everywhere. Why more people do not chose to partake puzzles me. Is it socially driven, or not cool to eat healthy? Or is it emotionally driven--junk food tastes better and makes me feel better? Or is it convenience---fast food is everywhere and is quicker than cooking healthy food? What has been the vehicle for this country to have such an obesity crisis? Poverty yes, lack of resources yes...but if there is a will- there is a way! *If you are struggling to find healthy foods please let me know and I will brainstorm with you to find what you need.

Everyone deserves quality, fresh, healthy food! No one, and in my opinion, especially children, should not be deprived of proper nutrition. To think that some parents will not feed their children certain foods because they are to expensive and "not worth it" is disgusting! Remember they could be taking care of us in the future. Or at least we hope so. It's scary to think that this is the first generation of children that may die younger than their parents.

With my crazy "food policies", I'm on a mission to see how I can help make a difference. Anyone else on board with me?

Pumpkin Ice Cream: An Easy Way to Cool Off with Fall Flavors





It is the end of September, right? It's fall now and not summer right? Well, someone tricked me by pushing the temperatures back to the 90's again. We had some nice fall temperatures a few weeks ago but not now. This time of year I get the craving for cool crisp mornings and cozy evenings to enjoy soups, apples and everything pumpkin! But, it's kind of hard to sit down to a bowl of my favorite soup when I'm dripping with sweat.

So when I had the craving for pumpkin and needed something to cool me off, the idea of Pumpkin Ice Cream sounded really good! I didn't have a lot of time to whip up a custard base for this ice cream, so I used a no cook method and let my old-time ice cream maker do the rest of the work.





Pumpkin Ice Cream

1 can pumpkin-- not the pie filling but plain pumpkin (I actually had roasted a pumpkin and pureed it since I was crazy for the smell and feel of fall.)

1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup 2% milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp clove

***you don't need extra sugar with the sweetened milk. Let the natural sweetness from the pumpkin shine through.

In a large mixing bowl, or a stand up mixer, whip cream until thick and fluffy. Gradually stir in pumpkin and blend. Then mix in remainder ingredients. Follow ice cream maker manufacturer instructions to finish and freeze.

What about you all? What are your favorite fall foods? Does anyone else have trouble enjoying these special foods when it's still hot outside?

NOTE:  Brag moment. Look closely at the ice cream scoop in the pictures. Would you believe my dad made that for me? I'll have an upcoming post on "homemade" from the heart highlighting his beautiful works. Might even have something special to offer too.

Healthy Lunch: Tofu Curry Salad

For those of us who pack a lunch or two at home every day, whether kids or our own...who is looking for variety? Me, me and me!!! I do really well most days of the week but hate to repeat to many times. We've try to use up leftovers but this doesn't always happen. Nut butter sandwiches are a great standby but not always. We also like to do Meatless Mondays and look for other options than cheese or yogurt for those days. So this recipe seemed to be a good solution!

Tofu is one of those foods I introduced to my girls when they were babies and it ended up being a protein that they would/and still do tend to eat and enjoy. If you are not already familiar with tofu, this is a good dish to make for a first time taste. The curry and sweetness of the relish gives it a very "chicken" salad like flavor. Just give it a try--for those tofu virgins, don't let it scare you! 



Tofu Curry Salad

14 oz. extra firm organic tofu
1 carrot, peeled a diced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 cup plain yogurt ( I use fat free)

1tsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp pickle relish ( I used my Carrot Cucumber Relish)

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp coriander

3 tbsp sliced almonds

salt & pepper to taste




To prepare the tofu: drain water off of tofu and remove from package. Wrap block of tofu in a cloth napkin or paper towels and gently squeeze the block to remove any excess water.

Cut up carrot and celery and dice the tofu in 1/2 inch cubes. In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, mustard, spices and relish. Stir in carrots, celery, tofu and almonds. Add salt and pepper to taste.




NOTE: This is a very exciting time in the McD house! I have started a new job with an awesome national non-profit that fights childhood obesity. What a dream job!! Woohoo! With this change, I don't want to lose my readers. So I will be trying my hardest to post as frequently as possible but at times I might just be able to update my Facebook page. Feel free to check out the updates I give over there and join in on some of the discussions. Once I get my feet on the ground- I promise to be back more often!!
 
Thanks for your support!

Banana Bread French Toast: Not What You'd Expect

Sure hope there are some others out there who are getting a taste of fall this weekend! We've had temps in the low 50's in the morning and later highs in the mid 70's. The AC is OFF and the windows are open! Woohoo!

With a nice cool morning the other day, my youngest gal and I ventured off for some errand running. While we were out we discovered a new bakery on our side of town! Sweet-- a place for me to go get inspiration! European Delights Bakery, is a special dream come true for a family of bakers. They have delicious looking Double Baked Almond Croissants, sweet and sticky Honey Almond Pretzels and oh so much more! We left with a Lemon Mousse Cupcake for the girls and a Bear Claw for the hubs. No disappointment here. We'll definitely be coming back for the fresh, baked from scratch goods. I'll pick this place any day over the chain place down the road, especially to support local businesses!!

One other thing we left with from the bakery was a loaf of their Sunflower Whole Wheat Bread. A perfect bread to use for my fun family breakfast creation. It had such a nice hearty appeal to it with the whole wheat bread and crunchy seeds inside. If you look closely at the pictures below you can see that it's also rolled in sunflower seeds. What a nice touch.

Banana Bread French Toast
Serves 4
8 slices of a hearty whole wheat bread (I used a Sunflower Whole Wheat)
5 eggs
1/4 2% milk (soy or almond would work)
1tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas
1 tsp cinnamon

In one bowl add eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk together. Add bananas and cinnamon in separate bowl and mash to mush. Heat griddle or skillet to medium heat. If using non-stick don't worry about adding butter or oil but if not, make sure to add a little. The sugar in the bananas will burn if not careful.

Take slice of bread and spread mashed banana on each side. Just add enough to coat the slice. Then dip the bread into the egg mixture and allow to soak for about 15-30 seconds per slice. Place on skillet and cook on each side until shiny egg appearance is gone. Serve with just a tad of 100% Maple Syrup as the bread will be sweet already.

Enjoy!